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Ecommpay has published a payments industry report which says consumer tolerance for checkout friction has "hit zero", with failed and declined payments emerging as a leading driver of abandonment.
The company's 2026 Payments Predictions Report draws on input from merchants, industry partners and Ecommpay staff. It points to rising pressure on merchants to reduce payment failures, maintain uptime and offer a wider choice of payment options across markets.
The report frames payment approval rates as a competitive metric for merchants. It links payment failure to immediate lost revenue and longer-term customer loss. It says customers attribute payment problems to the merchant rather than the payments provider. It adds that customers often do not return after a failed payment attempt.
Failure hotspots
According to the report's findings, failed or declined payments represent the top reason for checkout abandonment among participants. Ecommpay positions approval rates and payment performance as board-level measures in digital commerce. It describes approval optimisation as an operational discipline rather than a one-off technical fix.
The report also highlights a shift in how merchants view resilience. It says multi-provider strategies are now a priority. It links this trend to the need for continuity during outages. It also links it to risk management across acquiring and payment processing relationships.
The company says the year ahead will bring continued complexity in payments. The report still argues that complexity should not surface in the customer journey.
"In this new report, we have explored where merchants are really losing customers. Performance, approval rates and experience have become the critical battlegrounds for growth," said Willem Wellinghoff, UK Chair and Chief Compliance Officer, Ecommpay.
Wellinghoff also addressed the gap between back-end complexity and customer expectations.
"There is no doubt that payments are becoming more complex, but that does not have to mean the customer payment journey should be more confusing or complicated. Customer expectations are rising, and tolerance for friction is falling. Removing pain points from the payment journey is vital for continued success and customer satisfaction. It is time for payments to get smarter," said Wellinghoff.
Open banking
The report identifies early mainstream adoption of open banking as an accelerating trend. It places open banking alongside other payment methods that merchants consider as part of localisation strategies when entering new markets. It also links adoption to the search for additional payment rails and alternatives to card-based flows.
Tokenisation features as another theme. The report describes tokenisation as a retention tool. It associates tokenisation with repeat purchasing and the management of stored payment details.
Inclusion focus
The report also points to accessibility-by-default as a commercial requirement. It treats inclusion as part of checkout design, payment choice and user experience. It also treats inclusion as part of compliance and governance for merchants operating in multiple jurisdictions.
Ecommpay says contributors emphasised operational excellence and orchestration discipline. The report also highlights regulation and agentic commerce as trends shaping the coming year. It describes a focus on "deeply localised payment journeys" as merchants expand globally.
The partner list spans payments firms and digital commerce providers, including GoCardless, Hyvä, Paypr.work, Retail InMotion, JH Agency, Mastercard, ekko and Project Nemo. Ecommpay also drew on internal operational, product and compliance specialists.
Merchant control
Ecommpay positions its own roadmap around reducing friction and expanding payment options while meeting compliance requirements. It also highlights merchant decision-making over payment flows.
"Ecommpay was founded on the belief that payments should be simple and accessible, empowering merchants to expand locally and internationally," said Willem Wellinghoff. "In 2026, we are focusing on helping them to turn industry change into commercial advantage. We are reducing friction and providing wider payment choice as well as full compliance, whilst leaving full control in the hands of the merchant."
The report says merchants will increasingly measure payment performance through approval rates and reliability. It also says merchants will continue to invest in orchestration and multi-provider strategies as they broaden payment choice across regions.